Last Wednesday Olivia had a check-up with five shots, a TB scratch, and five vials of blood drawn. Not fun, but she recovered well and didn't hold it against us. She also screamed through a failed ear irrigation, but the wax was so hard and dry that nothing budged. We're going to try again at home, but may need to go to an ENT to get her ears cleaned out to ensure she's hearing well as she's trying learn a new language. She seems to be learning quickly and hearing well, but the doctor couldn't even see her ear drums and was afraid she'd be hearing everything muffled only through bone conduction...
We don't have all the lab results in yet, but there were two irregularities so far that require follow-ups with specialists in addition to the cardiologist (who we can't get in to see until July 20!) Olivia had a high level of a thyroid stimulation hormone suggesting sub-clinical hypothyroidism...so in a few weeks we'll be visiting an endocrinologist. And we need to start a daily dose of iron for anemia and we may need to follow up with a hematologist if the iron doesn't improve because it may not be due to iron deficiency. The doctor suggested having her drink the iron through a straw to minimize teeth staining. Sounds like fun. The pharmacy had to special order it so we haven't tried yet.
So our possible line up of specialist now includes a dentist (Friday), an endocrinologist, a hematologist, a cardiologist, an ENT, an ophthalmologist, and developmental screening. Wow, that's a lot! I'm worn out just thinking about all that, but we'll get through it.
P.S.
Forgot to mention that the pediatrician listened for a heart murmur and could not hear one :) We'd thought her Dec. '05 open heart surgery had corrected everything and were surprised, at her exit exam in China, to hear the doctor say she still (again?) had a murmur...but apparently if she has one, it must not be glaringly obvious. Either way, I imagine the cardiologist will order a slew of his own tests to get a clear picture of her heart status.
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2 comments:
Karyn~
Wishes are sent your way that everything will turn out to be ok. It's got to be hard to have all these specialists thrown your way all at once like that. Since Olivia is adopted and 4 yrs old they have to make up for all the lost time but you don't usually have to deal with all that at once!! Good luck, keep us posted!
Jill G.
It sounds like your plate is quite full with all these appointments. Hope that the dentist visit goes well on Friday and that the other doctors all have good news for Olivia.
She is such a cutie and I love all the updates! Hope to meet her soon.
Sue B
in the western suburbs
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